Santa Rosa tidal pool

Storms can be very difficult, especially for those who live on barrier islands, but after they pass the beaches are swept clear, as is the sky.  Tidal pools form and shore birds abound.  Yesterday morning a northerly wind flattened the surface of the gulf, but ruffles of waves raced along the shore, one after another.  As you watch the video, notice how a wave will start to the west of me and make a quick run eastward. 

Osprey

I was very excited to see this beautiful osprey during my patrol at Santa Rosa this morning.  Someone had taken an old log which washed up and stood it upright.  It was a perfect perch for an osprey to scope out some breakfast!

Florida Brown Pelican

What a joy to catch a snippet of a Brown Pelican during patrol this morning!  These birds are so shy that I can never get near enough to get a good photo of them.  I was quite pleased to catch this fellow unaware!

Sunrise at Opal Beach

I enjoy my early sea turtle patrols, but even if I do not find tracks/nests, I am often treated to beautiful sunrises on the beach. 

This morning I covered the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore and was treated to this brilliant display just before dawn.

Life if good!

A Sunset for Andrew

After driving to the Point (the western tip of Santa Rosa Island where the old fort is located)  to screen a sea turtle nest a couple evenings ago, I stopped to watch the sun slowly sink into the horizon over Perdido Key and Pensacola Pass. 

It made me think of our friend Andrew Diller who left Pensacola for the Washington D.C./Arlington, Virginia area just last week, and how much we are going to miss him.  Andrew was the Florida Sea Grant Marine Extension Agent for the Escambia County Extension Service.  He is a marine biologist and was also one of our very dependable sea turtle patrolers at Perdido Key. 

Even more important was the major role Andrew took in educating the public on how beach lighting impacts our sea turtles and their nesting.  He helped with workshops which offered lighting options to beach residents and worked with condominium homeowners associations.  It was through his guidance, with the assistance of Jim Cox and Lois Hausman, that one of our larger complexes, Portofino Island Resort, retrofitted parking garage lights in all five of their towers with 'turtle-friendly' amber bulbs, as well as changing their balcony lighting from bright white to amber. 

Next time you are on the beach, note the difference in the lighting at hotels and condominiums which have the new turtle friendly lighting and those which still use bright white light.  It's an amazing contrast and you will be able to see we still have a long way to go in regard to changes. 

Our sea turtle conservation efforts may actually be paying off, however.  After several years of dwindling numbers, we are having record high numbers of sea turtle nests this year, and hope this is the new trend. The Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore has 23 nests, Ft. Pickens area has 17, Perdido Key area has almost 30, but Pensacola Beach itself has only 12 sea turtle nests - another example of how lighting impacts sea turtles which are scouting out darker areas of beach to come ashore and nest.

So, Andrew, this sunset is for you, in addition to many thanks for your amazing contribution to our beautiful beaches.   Hopefully anyone who reads this will make their own contribution toward turtle-friendly lighting on the beach by clicking HERE to read more about the subject and implementing changes of your own.  You may also want to read another informative article which was written by my supervisor, Mark Nicholas, Head Biologist for the Florida District of Gulf Islands National Seashore:  "Light Pollution and Marine Turtle Hatchlings".

[Andrew, I'll also give you a laugh by telling you I was standing in the surf and it was washing the sand out from under me as I was taping the sunset, hence the occasional jerky moves on a tribute to you which I meant to be much more moving. ;-)]

Sunrise at Navarre Beach

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness."

~~ Author Unknown

A New Day

Sometimes the only thing that will help is a new day.

Keep 'em coming!

I did a happy dance this morning when I discovered my second sea turtle nest of the week. This loggerhead was all business! She came straight up on the beach, nested, and headed straight back into the Gulf.

The body pit, which is very evident in this photo, was 6' 7" across.

To give you some sense of scale, the width of her track was 37" wide.

I immediately called the bio-techs to alert them I'd found another nest. I wasn't sure if it would need to be relocated. Then I posted a sign and then headed off to complete the rest of my patrol just in case there were other nests or false crawls.

By the time I returned to work on the nest (measurements, staking, reporting), bio-techs Rebecca Carruth and Toby Singleton arrived to assess the situation, along with volunteer Emily Kennedy. Rebecca was a welcome sight on Sunday when my Ft. Pickens nest had to be relocated.

Even though the decision was made to leave the nest "in situ" - it's original location - Rebecca digs down to locate the egg chamber itself so that it can be GPS'd. She then replaces the sand and leaves a light hand print for reference when they return with the GPS equipment.

The whole team of Bio-techs and volunteers are thrilled with the number of nests we've had so far this year - and we haven't even gotten into the peak of our season! But we realize there will be a lot of sleepless night in a couple of months when all these nests start hatching!

Measurements taken, nest roped off, reporting completed on SR 6081. Time to head home.

Life is good!

Baby, baby!!!

I barely had time to get my camera out and capture a few frames of video before this little Least Tern chick outran me. Isn't it adorable?

This is a wondrous time of the year within Gulf Islands National Seashore with all the nests, chicks and fledglings.  And I'll be sharing as much as possible of the special discoveries on my patrol with my blog followers!

Gulf Islands National Seashore

What a fabulous evening on the beach! This photo was taken less than an hour ago within the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore which borders the east side of Pensacola Beach.

I drove out to set a screen on a sea turtle nest and saw several weddings setting up at walkovers along the way. It's a beautiful, dramatic evening for a wedding on the beach! Cumulonimbus clouds are building high in the west and storms edge the horizon of the Gulf.

Snowy Egret

I first noticed this beautiful snowy egret at Ft. Pickens a couple of weeks ago, but it has been difficult to get a photo because he/she is very skittish. Also, most of the photos I take on patrol are not sharp due to the vibration of the Mule, but I was happy to finally nab one of this beauty, especially one that shows his bright yellow feet!


Although the snowy egret is not endangered or threatened, it is listed as a species of special concern in Florida because its numbers have been dwindling since the 1950's

As always, you can learn more about the subjects of my photos by clicking on highlighted text which contain links with specific information.

Before dawn

"For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?"

~~ Thornton Wilder (1897 - 1975)

Pensacola Pass

On my sea turtle patrol days, I enjoy watching the fishing boats and charters heading out to the Gulf through Pensacola Pass. In the photo above the Pensacola lighthouse is seen behind the 'Entertainer'.


I generally make it to the old fort by 6:30 a.m., That generally coincides with the timing of Pensacola Beach charters which pull out of the marina around 6:00 a.m.


Avid fishermen may arrive even earlier and it's not usual for me to see boats dotting the horizon as the sun rises.

This is the place I enjoy stopping for a quick cup of coffee before continuing my run. I think you can see why.

Courtship

On the second half of my sea turtle patrol this morning, I witnessed an amazing performance by these two Great Blue Herons. My only conclusion is that it must have been a mating ritual, though it seems a bit late in the season.


Rounding the tip of the island at Pensacola Pass, I saw two Great Blue Herons about 100 feet in front of me. I stopped the Mule just long enough to pull out my camera, but realized I was still too far away for a good shot. I pulled forward another 25 feet or so, fearful that I would startle them into flying away.

Suddenly, in unison, both herons looked skyward, extending their necks. I moved the camera away from my face and looked up to see what had grabbed their attention. There was nothing in the vicinity which I could see.


The heron in the first position seemed to go into slow motion, walking alway from the shoreline and toward the dunes in a march. The second heron continued looking up and fell in behind the first.

Again, I moved the camera away from my face and looked up to see what had their rapt attention. No planes, no osprey, no gulls, no other people in sight - just two herons in a trance.

Continuing their march in slow motion...

What the heck is up there, guys?

Never wavering, he just looks toward the sky in a hypnotic state.

Oops, something happened, but I don't know what.

Then immediately went back to his strange, slow march across the sand.

I would love to hear from some of my blog followers who are birders. This was a fascinating event to witness.